Tuesday, February 07, 2006

So today at work I had waaaaay too much free time on my hands and did a bunch of cycling research. I also went back and reviewed emails from Joyce at the start of last season - and they were helpful but I think I tapped her resources and experiences withing two months of racing and she grew frustrated with me. There were some useful pieces of information that she shared - and today I went back through and picked out some of the best info... here's a snip it.

Climbing is a developed skill, so in the meantime, this weekend try two
things. When you hit a hill pick a wheel and determine to stay on it
for dear life. I just stare at the wheel in front of me and follow
every twitch. If I recover, I try to pass them, which bolsters my
confidence. If that doesn't work, if I can't hold the wheel, I just get
into my own rhythm and forget about everyone else around me. Just think
about getting to the top and once your there, gear up and try to power
back up to whomever is left. Don't wait for anyone behind you, as you
now know ;) Think about floating to the top. Pretend you have a
tailwind. Think about Lance climbing the Alp D'Huez. Put a song in
your head. Think about how bad it hurts, then play games w/ your mind
to ignore the pain. I'm not the best of climbers either - when I
started, people always said - you have the body of a climber and then lo
and behold, I'm a sprinter. Those two things are generally mutually
exclusive, so don't sweat it. Look at Robbie McEwen - that guy is
barely making the cut offs in the mountain stages in the tour, but
winning every sprinters stage. Now you know what you are and you can
play to your strengths, like in the crit.

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